My new SSD Corsair CSSD-F60 actually works - using it for boot and system disk (Windows 7 64-bit). But when first (cold-) booting the PC it's not properly found by BIOS and Intel ICH9R Controller. The first boot attempt always fails. When I wait for about 1-2 minutes, and retry using CTRL + ALT + DEL it's getting recognized and everything works as expected from now on - until the next boot from a turned-off state. I'm also running a RAID-5 SATA set in this machine, this was my previous system partition.

Some screenshots describe the problem:

Turning PC on, initialization, shows up like this. The problem is: While it's recognized at "Port 00", it doesn't appear in the Physical Disks section:

Error because boot disk was not found:

When I'd press CTRL + ALT + DEL instantly, the procedure likely will repeat from (1). But after about 1-2 minutes have passed from the first start, it's certain that I get the following screen. From now on, everything works fine! Note that now the SSD appears in the Physical Disks section:

Interestingly, when going to BIOS during the first period, I'm not able to select the SSD as my boot device because it simply doesn't appear in the list. After it was recognized, I can select it from the list.

(This is the working version, during the first period there is only my Intel RAID device listed)

Usually, I turn on my PC, wait two minutes and press CTRL + ALT + DEL to get it booted - this always works.

What could this be?

Here some facts:

Phoenix BIOS up-to-date (Manufacturer ABIT doesn't provide any support for mainboards anymore, this is the IX38 QuadGT with Intel X38-ICH9R)

Storage Controller/Bus running in RAID mode which supposedly include AHCI (have to run in RAID mode because of the existing RAID set)

Bad news guys, I've pulled off the power connectors from all three hard disks (Ports 01, 03 and 05) and from the DVD-ROM drive (Port 04) so there was only the SSD plugged in - same effect, I wasn't able to boot from cold start state but minutes later. I also exchanged the port to 04 for a single test, no success.

This might be a power issue. Can you successfully cold-boot without the other hard drives connected?
–
sblairJul 28 '11 at 19:27

@sblair Thanks, good catch, will try that soon - while my power supply is scaled sufficiently, the hard disks are all hanging on the same cable (for lengths reasons you know.. :). The SSD is not the last one though, its one of the RAID disks.
–
thomasjaworski.comJul 28 '11 at 22:38

2

The order of the drives on the daisy-chained power connector shouldn't matter much, each drive should get the same voltages. If possible, it would be interesting to measure those voltages during the first minute or so after booting. I'm speculating wildly here, but the SSD may be sensitive to even slight voltage dips, whereas the HDDs can ride-through. How old is the PSU?
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sblairJul 28 '11 at 23:08

1

@Breakthrough Yes, I'm familiar with Ohm's law :) But, I don't understand what you mean. Each SATA device will be connected to the various voltage rails in parallel. Ignoring the tiny cable impedance, the voltages must be the same for each device, regardless of order, and regardless of current.
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sblairJul 29 '11 at 10:47

2

I also have a Corsair SSD (a P3 128GB). Sometimes when I reboot or cold start the computer I experience this issue too. Letting it sit there for a while and then rebooting again always makes it reappear. I've also suspected it to be a power issue, but I have a well-sized PSU (also from Corsair!), but it's been shown not likely. I suggest contacting Corsair. They're usually very personal with their customers.
–
jesperJul 30 '11 at 10:54

2 Answers
2

It can also be a capacitor issue. Sometimes power delivery on either the device or PSU has almost-but-not-quite working capacitors, so when the system have been powered for a while they work, but it takes some time for them to charge. This is obviously a hardware malfunction issue.

I would cross-test the SSD on some other computer to see whether it's the SSD or your motherboard/PSU that has problems.